Tuesday, October 31, 2017

God Sightings

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20 NIV)

For almost my entire ministry on campus, I have challenged students to take a look around them to see God, to see what the Apostle Paul describes as His “invisible qualities” that he says can be seen, if we only are willing to look.  What has always been consistent is the students have rarely, if ever, done it. They struggle with the concept and find it difficult to recount where they have seen God. What about you?

If you are struggling with this as well, allow me to help by telling you where I have seen God in recent days. My wife and I live in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains and it is October, which means the leaves have been changing color. I see Him daily as I look out upon the tapestry of colors and hues. He is such a creator of beauty. As the evening temperatures become much cooler, the night skies become clearer and the plethora of stars and planets practically shout out His awesomeness. The mountain weather is unpredictable and within the span of a few days we had both massive amounts of rain and high winds and snow, demonstrating the power of the Lord’s creation over which we mere humans have no control.  

However, it is not just in creation that I see the Lord, but also in people and situations.  As I am daily on campus or in town, I encounter numerous people, not one exactly the same.  Billions of people have walked and are walking the earth and each one is different. Though students have similarities with some others, all are unique in and of themselves. God is the creator of uniqueness. Recently, I saw God in a situation of division between family members starting to be resolved that had been months in the making and His fingerprints were easily seen in setting into motion a reconciliation process.  And every day my heart beats in perfect rhythm and functions normally, serving as a reminder of His healing power that I experienced over five months ago and all the gifted people He involved in it. God is all-powerful, but empowers humans as well to accomplish His will. I could go on and on.

As I try to explain to students, it is not that hard to see God; we only have to start looking. With a little practice, when we’re asked about our God sightings, we should easily be able to cite many.

Today, start compiling your own list. I guarantee you will start seeing Him in ways you never have before. And when you do, you will know how present He always is and how truly awesome is the God who created you.

© Jim Musser 2017

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